## **INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON COUPLE AND FAMILY RELATIONS Charitable Incorporated Organisation** **UK registered charity no.** 1192742 ## **2022 ANNUAL REPORT** ## _**BACKGROUND INFORMATION**_ _The ICCFR CIO has been a registered charity in the UK since December 2020, as successor to the ICCFR Trust, a registered UK charity since 2003._ _The Objects of the CIO are described in its Constitution:_ - _To advance the education of the public in the social sciences and in particular in matters concerning family and interpersonal relationships. And_ - _To achieve such other objects which are charitable within the laws of England and Wales as may be determined by the Trustees._ _The Trustees must use the income and may use the capital of the CIO in promoting the Objects._ _The ICCFR CIO’s Trustees are required to hold three Meetings per year either electronically or in person; Trustees are appointed for a 4-year term of office – the following were in office during 2022:_ - _Douglas Alexiou (UK) -Chair_ - _Anne Berger (USA)_ - _Claire Barnes (USA)_ - _Sarah Hawker (Italy)_ - _Gerlind Richards MBE (UK) – Vice-Chair_ - _Philip Richards (UK) - Treasurer_ - _Anita Rodarte (USA)_ - _Suzie S Thorn Esq (USA)_ _ICCFR CIO is supported by five Patrons:_ _John Chambers OBE (UK) Professor Marie-Claire Foblets (Belgium),_ _Sir Mathew Thorpe (UK), Suzie S Thorn Esq (USA), Professor Sabine Walpers (Germany)._ ## **ANNUAL REVIEW FOR 2022** ##  **Trustees and Positions:** In 2022, John Chambers OBE concluded his term of office at the January AGM. He agreed to become a Patron of ICCFR. Two new Trustees were elected in the course of the year: Sarah Hawker (Rome, Italy), and Imelda Diouf (Pretoria, South Africa) who stepped down from her trusteeship within a few months. The CIO held its three statutory meetings, two of these by electronic means (Zoom) including the January AGM. The third meeting was held in person in Newport, Wales with attendance by some of the Trustees by Zoom link. Moreover, the Trustees met regularly in the more informal context of the ICCFR Council Meetings, also held by Zoom. ##  **Achievement of Objectives and Donations:** 2022 was a year of structural and strategic development. The ICCFR Group transitioned to a Council chaired by Trustee Gerlind Richards MBE, and formed of 15 Council Members – including all the Trustees - from 8 countries around the globe, with regular Zoom meetings every second month. ICCFR adopted a strategic action plan that led to the creation of three Standing Committees, each taking on the remit of a different area 1 of ICCFR’s work: programme development, resource development and administration & finance. Standing Committee meetings were scheduled for the intervening months and led to working groups which met more frequently. As ICCFR relies almost entirely on volunteer work, supported only by one part-time administrator, dividing up the different areas of responsibility allows a narrower focus and a faster pace of work. The decision was taken to identify an annual theme for 2022-2023, focussing on building resilience in families. Continued restrictions in the first half of the year as a consequence of the pandemic led to the decision to confine events to a webinar in November, as a first step to possible further webinars in the following spring, culminating in an in-person conference in 2023. The webinar in November organised by Trustee Claire Barnes, was hosted by CIO Chair Douglas Alexiou and Trustee Anne Berger. The theme which was introduced by a Polish attorney-at-law and Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers focused on Poland’s role in supporting victim families of the war in Ukraine. In the last three months of the year, three Trustees Claire Barnes, Gerlind Richards MBE and Philip Richards successfully created a new website for ICCFR, under the auspices of a professional website developer. The official launch is planned for the beginning of 2023. Substantial grants to the CIO from the Government of Flanders and from the Government of Germany (now through the German national organisation AGF) were announced and received in the course of the year. The Trustees are particularly obliged to Ms Karine Moykens (Flanders) and to Mr. Sven Iversen (Germany) who were instrumental in procuring these grants which were awarded to aid its educative objectives by supporting the ICCFR in its work in general, representing therefore designated funding. ICCFR submitted again a request for a grant from the Suzie S Thorn Family Foundation which has supported the charity since its foundation. The Trustees are indebted to Suzie S Thorn without whose support these contributions would not have been received as it is anticipated that the grant will be awarded early in 2023. ##  **Future Plans:** In the course of the year, the Standing Committee for Programming began working on the first in-person conference since the pandemic planned for the coming year. Trustee and SCP Chair Claire Barnes took the lead in identifying and negotiating with the conference host Care for the Family, a UK organisation based in Newport, Wales. An intensive work schedule for the members of this Committee led to the successful planning and preparation of the event for May 2023, with the annual theme “The family offers a lifetime’s foundation to build resilience and elasticity”. Identification of relevant content and developing plans for ICCFR activities, for varying and introducing new elements to the format of ICCFR events and for updating and improving communications remain a priority. There was a consensus that in-person conferences are an essential element of ICCFR’s work and identity but will henceforth need to be supplemented by online events and activities. Consolidating existing connections as well as forging new links will be a priority in the coming year. All Trustees and Council Members will be involved in the effort to extend the ICCFR network and encourage active participation, support and assistance from newcomers. Fund-raising aims and purposes for the long term remain: - To allow sponsorship for ICCFR to mount a conference in a country where no local support can be expected; - To provide funding for people who are disadvantaged, especially young people wishing to benefit/learn from an ICCFR conference; - To offer conference scholarships for younger post-graduates or researchers in one of the focal areas of the ICCFR’s work - To promote original research pertaining to a particular conference topic (such as the joint project with Queen’s University Belfast in the past). This concludes the second Annual report of the ICCFR CIO. ## _Gerlind Richards MBE_ _Vice-Chair – ICCFR CIO_ _London, January 2023_ 2 ## **ICCFR CIO** ## **Financial Report for financial year ended 31 December 2022** ## **1. Financial position** At the end of 2022 the CIO held $27,383 in the CIO’s US bank account and £36,744 in the Barclays Community Account. This amounts to the equivalent of £59,447 (exchange rate calculated at $1=£0.829). Over 2022 to end of December the ICCFR CIO received a total of £4,496 in donations and grants. The ICCFR CIO provided £5,797 for the ICCFR CIO’s administration, and £660 towards the costs of the 2023 conference, together with £100 donated to the Care for the Family organisation. ## **2. Grants received and grants given** We are extremely grateful for the continuing support of both the German Government, contributing £2,105 towards the running costs of the ICCFR CIO. We are also very appreciative to the SS Thorn Family Foundation for their grant of £2,391 made during 2022. ## **3. Effects of foreign exchange** There have been considerable movements between GBP and USD for the full year with the US dollar strengthening against GBP, the net impact being £2,241 to the end of December. _Philip Richards FCA, Treasurer - ICCFR_ _January 2023_ 3 ## **ICCFR CIO Statement of Financial Activities 31 December 2022** ||Note|**Total**|Total| |---|---|---|---| |||**Funds**|Funds| |||**2022**|2021| |Incoming resources||**£**|£| |Incoming resources from generated funds|||| |**Voluntary Income**|||| |Government grants, donations and gifts||4,496|10,728| |Transfer from ICCFR Commission & ICCFR Trust||-|54,122| |**Total Incoming Resources**||**4,496**|**64,850**| |**Resources expended**|||| |Costs of generating funds|||| |Fundraising: direct costs of events and department||**-**|**-**| |**Charitable activities**|||| |Relief granted to individuals||**-**|**-**| |Conference organisation and hosting||(660)|(2,516)| |Donations||(100)|-| |**Total charitable activities**||**(760)**|**(2,516)**| |Governance costs|1|(5,797)|(3,086)| |**Total resources expended**||**(6,557)**|**(5,602)**| |Net incoming/(outgoing) resources before interest|||| |and foreign exchange||**(2,061)**|**59,248**| |Interest received|2|39|32| |**Net incoming/(outgoing) resources for the year**||**(2,023)**|**59,280**| |**Net movement of funds**||**(2,023)**|**59,280**| |Total funds brought forward at 1 January 2022||**59,229**|**-**| |Effect of foreign exchange on deposits|3|2,241|(51)| |**Total funds carried forward at 31 December 2022**||**59,447**|**59,229**| ## Notes: 1. Governance costs are defined as Trustees expenses and CIO administration. 2. Represents interest from both US and UK accounts. 3. US bank accounts translated at year end rate 1 USD:0.829 GBP The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities. All funds are unrestricted in nature. 4 ## **ICCFR CIO Balance Sheet 31 December 2022** ||2022|2021| |---|---|---| ||£|£| |CURRENT ASSETS||| |Cash at bank and in hand|59,447|59,229| |Debtors|-|-| |NET CURRENT ASSETS|59,447|59,229| |TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT||| |LIABILITIES|59,447|59,229| |Creditors|-|-| |NET ASSETS|59,447|59,229| |Represented by:||| |FUNDS||| |Unrestricted funds|59,447|59,229| |Restricted funds|-|-| |TOTAL FUNDS|**59,447**|**59,229**| 5